Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

The late autumn wind had stripped most of the leaves from the old locust tree in the yard, leaving only a few bright yellow leaves hanging on the branches.

He Yuzhu was looking at the lithography machine in the workshop when Lin Jianguo ran over, his footsteps rustling on the fallen leaves. He was panting as he ran.

"Dean, Yang Xiaobing is back."

He Yuzhu paused for a second, put down what he was holding, and walked out.

A jeep was parked in front of the research institute, its body still covered in mud, and its windshield cracked. Yang Xiaobing stood beside the car, leaning on a cane, his leg too weak to put weight on it.

He has lost weight.

A new scar appeared on his face, running from his eyebrow down to his cheekbone, the newly grown flesh still tinged with pink. Under the sunlight, the scar was particularly noticeable.

He Yuzhu walked up to him.

Yang Xiaobing tried to stand at attention, but his legs buckled and he swayed. He Yuzhu reached out and supported his arm.

"How's your leg?"

Yang Xiaobing grinned.

"It's alright. It'll be fine after a few more days of rest."

He turned around, took something out of the car, wrapped it in an oilcloth, and handed it over.

"Commander, take a look at this."

He Yuzhu took it and lifted the oilcloth.

It was a rifle. The barrel still gleamed with gun oil, and a string of foreign characters was engraved on the stock. He picked up the rifle, weighed it in his hand, and pulled back the bolt to take a look.

"Seized?"

Yang Xiaobing nodded.

"The enemy's new equipment."

As he said this, he glanced elsewhere before looking back.

He Yuzhu looked at his face.

"Have you tried it?"

Yang Xiaobing licked his lips.

"We've tried it. It has a long range, high accuracy, and low recoil. Compared to it, our guns..."

He didn't finish speaking.

He Yuzhu put the gun down.

"Who paid it?"

Yang Xiaobing remained silent for a few seconds.

"It was Xiao Zhou who handed it over. He spotted the enemy officer first, pounced on him, grabbed him, and made me fire."

He paused again.

He never came back.

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

The wind blew the last few leaves down, swirling them as they landed at their feet.

That night, He Yuzhu disassembled the gun, and the parts were spread all over the table.

The lamp's beam only illuminated that one area, leaving the surrounding area dark. He examined each part one by one, measuring with calipers, looking with a magnifying glass, and recording the data in his notebook.

He stared at the bolt mechanism for the first half of the night.

In the latter half of the night, he repeatedly compared the angles of the rifling.

As dawn approached, he put the last part back in and sat there in a daze.

This gun is better than ours. The materials are better, the craftsmanship is better, and the design is better too.

He recalled Lin Jianguo's words.

"Some parts simply cannot be manufactured domestically."

It's not just a matter of parts anymore. The entire gun is inferior to theirs.

He brought up the system interface, hesitated for a few seconds, and then clicked "redeem".

[Automatic Rifle Series Design] - Costs 6,000,000 points.

Current total points: 155,330,000 - 1,000,000 = 154,330,000 points

When the stack of documents was retrieved from the system space, it was already dawn outside the window.

The next morning, He Yuzhu called Ma Yuejin to his office.

Ma Yuejin took the stack of documents and flipped through them. He paused on the third page, then looked up.

"Dean, this structure..."

He paused, then flipped back to look at the documents a few more times.

"It looks a bit like the one we captured."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"Does it look like it?"

Ma Yuejin nodded.

"Similar. But better than that."

After he finished speaking, he didn't say anything more and continued turning the pages. When he reached a certain page, his finger stopped on the paper.

"Dean, the precision requirement..."

He Yuzhu waited for him to continue.

Ma Yuejin swallowed his words.

"Okay. I'll arrange it."

Yang Xiaobing recuperated in the hospital for three days.

Every day, he would walk around the yard with his cane, circling the old locust tree again and again. He drank a lot of the soup He Yushui cooked, and Qin Huairu would change his dressings every day, moving very gently and occasionally looking up to check his expression.

He Nianhua was initially a little afraid of him, so she lay on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) peeking out with her eyes. When Yang Xiaobing beckoned to her, she shrank back.

On the evening of the third day, Yang Xiaobing took something out of his pocket.

It's a tank model made from bullet casings. The tracks are pieced together from bullet casings, the gun barrel is a long bullet casing, and there are two characters engraved on the hull.

"Fox Hunting"

His hand trembled slightly when he handed it to He Nianhua.

He Nianhua took it and examined it for a long time, turning it over and over. The tank in her hands was only slightly larger than her palm.

"Dad... Dad..."

He Yuzhu walked over and squatted down next to her.

"Who gave it to you?"

He Nianhua pointed at Yang Xiaobing.

He Yuzhu took the tank and examined it. Every part was polished, smooth, and not rough to the touch. He turned it over and saw that there were words engraved on the bottom as well.

"Xiao Zhou."

He froze for a moment.

He looked up at Yang Xiaobing.

Yang Xiaobing stood there, his gaze fixed on the tank, without saying a word.

He Nianhua hugged the tank back to his arms and refused to let go.

That night, He Yuzhu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching He Nianhua fall asleep hugging the tank. Her little mouth moved slightly, and he wondered where she was driving that tank in her dreams.

Qin Huairu sat down next to him.

"That kid Yang Xiaobing is very thoughtful."

He Yuzhu nodded.

Qin Huairu leaned on his shoulder.

"I saw the scar on his face when he changed his dressing. If it had been any deeper, he wouldn't have been able to save his eye."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

Qin Huairu remained silent for a while.

"It's good that you people came back alive."

The moon outside the window was very bright, shining in and making He Nianhua's little face look pale.

the phone is ringing.

He Yuzhu answered the phone; it was Lao Sun on the other end.

"Old He."

Old Sun only said those two words and then fell silent.

He Yuzhu waited.

"We've got a mission from above. An improved version of the heavy tank needs to be able to withstand new anti-tank weapons."

He Yuzhu held the microphone but didn't speak.

Old Sun remained silent for a few more seconds.

"I know things have calmed down a few days ago on your end..."

He Yuzhu interrupted him.

When do you need it?

Old Sun said.

"The sooner the better."

The phone hangs up.

He Yuzhu stood there, listening to the busy tone on the microphone.

He turned around and saw Qin Huairu still sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at him. She didn't ask who had called or what the call was about.

He Yuzhu walked back and sat down.

He Nianhua was still asleep, still holding the tank in his arms.

He pulled the blanket up to cover his small shoulders.